


Unforgettable

by WonderingHero



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Budding Love, Child Abuse, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24959164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WonderingHero/pseuds/WonderingHero
Summary: After failing a mission as a child, it led to an unforgettable encounter with an emotionless girl for Yuri.
Relationships: Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc & My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	Unforgettable

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you livmoores for looking over this oneshot for me. 
> 
> Just a warning there is brief mentions of child abuse in the beginning as well as implied sexual child abuse.
> 
> Please enjoy!

A small, young boy with lavender hair and eyes huddled quietly in a dark alley. He pressed himself as close to the wall as he could when a shadow passed by the end of the alley. His teeth dug into his lips to still all the sounds he could possibly make. A small, almost inaudible gasp escaped him as his body gasped for the air, he had been denying himself of taking for a while, and because of that he stared at the end of the alleyway with wide eyes.

It felt like an eternity before the shadow passed and the boy dared to move, his incredibly stiff body. He wasn't able to rise completely to his feet before pain had him doubling over. In a futile attempt his arms wrapped around his stomach as if it would ease his pain. For a brief moment he smirked, after he lifted his dirty tunic and discovered not a single visible wound, and he let out a silent scoff. His pursuers would be able to make his death an easy cover and he scowled darkly for a moment.

His complaint burned in the back of his throat as he would never say it out loud as he only had himself to blame for the situation, he found himself in. Using the wall as support, he struggled to make his way out of the alleyway. The trek was incredibly slow, and his throat burned with an even greater intensity and yet he did not let a single sound escape from his lips.

He was barely able to make it to the end of the alley before he collapsed with a silent grunt. His blood ran cold when a shadow overlapped him. Like a Pegasus taking flight his head shot up and wide, lavender eyes stared into doll-like steel blue eyes. Time had frozen as the two stared at each other, neither daring to make a sound.

As if time were returning to its normal flow, the boy came back to his senses and backed away from the stranger as best as he could. The intruder was a young girl with steel-blue hair to match her eyes and wore a plain grey tunic. She couldn't have been that much older than him. Besides the dagger strapped at her hip, she seemed so unassuming and yet her empty gaze was greatly unnerving.

At his best he was sure he could get rid of her with ease, but he was far from his best at the moment. Her gaze never shifted, not a single emotion flickered across her face, and without being aware of it, he instinctively took a step back. A breathless chuckled racked through his damaged body as it occurred to him how she would be the perfect, little, child assassin and must have been hired to clean up the mess of his failure.

Lavender eyes narrowed into a sharp glare, but it quickly gave way to a wide eye terror stare. A new shadow joined the mix that eclipsed the both of them. The shadow belonged to a tall, muscular man that the boy was all too familiar with and a stab of pain punctured his abdomen at the memory. A small hiss escaped the boy as he took another step back.

The man roughly shoved the girl out of his way and never spared her a glance, and yet her expression didn't change. The boy turned away from the man to escape but it was useless as the man grabbed the boy with the greatest of ease and slammed him against the wall. A gasp escaped the child upon impact, but it did nothing to diminish the fire within him as he retaliated by spitting on the man's face.

A curse ripped through the man as he raised his fist, high. The boy tried to remain fierce and defiant by continuing to glare at the man but as the fist neared the boy's face, he closed his eyes. When a moment passed and an impact never happened, he released his held breath and then slowly opened his eyes.

No longer was the threat of impact in front of him. The man's arm had been pulled away by the girl. Both the men and the boy stared at the girl; whose face never reflected the severity of her actions.

Another curse echoed in the alleyway as the man shoved off the girl. Once again, he tried to strike the boy and once again she had intervened. The man roared out as he more violently shoved her off him. She landed on her bottom and stared up at the man, hovering over her now that he had seemingly all forgotten about the boy. The boy looked on in stunned horror, while the girl's face remained as impassive as ever.

Now would have been the perfect time for him to make his escape but the boy was unable to tear his eyes away from the scene before him. He unknowingly held his breath as the man slammed his fist down. But once again, the strike never connected as a dagger ripped through the man's arm. A massive cry of pain filled the air before it was cut short when the bunt of a dagger was propelled upwards and smashed against the man's nose. He fell back covering his face and spewing curses, while the girl simply stood over him, expressionless.

There was a beat before the boy came to his senses and he forgot all about his pain as he grabbed the girl's arm and began to drag her away. He had no idea where he was going or really what he was doing, the only thought going through his mind at that time was to get the both of them as far away from there as he possibly could. All throughout their mad dash she never spoke a thing.

He ran until he could run no more as his lungs burned. Once he came to a stop, he was instantly reminded of the tense pain he was in. Doubling over, he squeezed his eyes shut trying to will the pain away.

A light touch on his shoulder had him jerking his head up. Expressive lavender eyes stared into emotionless steel-blue eyes and he had forgotten his pain again. He was unable to look away, those eyes that held nothing in them, captured his. There had been so many thoughts swirling in his head before and yet when they had a small moment to breathe, his mind was completely empty.

Reality came crashing hard into the boy when an old, gruff voice broke through the silence. He was instantly on guard when an old, muscular man with honey brown hair and a matching beard came rushing towards them. Even though he had started to expect the lack of a reaction from the girl, it did calm him some when she remained as blank as ever; it also helped that she was the focus of the attention.

Panic swept over the man as he questioned the blood that stained the girl's tunic. The boy knew how to keep his face vacant, though he acknowledged that he had a lot to work on before he could come even close to matching the girl, but to have one's voice completely devoid of emotions was unnatural. His mind was completely aware that he should be weary of her and yet he couldn't really bring himself to head the warning.

His heart finally took his brain's warning seriously when the man's gaze settled on him. He tried to be impassive as the girl but that was impossible. That man was a thousand times more intimidating than any other person he had ever seen in his life, and despite his best efforts to come off as unafraid he couldn't help but hunch into himself a little.

The desire to run away was strong, when the man started to walk towards him, but he found himself rooted in place. His heart leapt into his throat when he felt something grab his hand. He tore his gaze away from the man, despite his better judgement, to look at his hand, and discovered that the girl was holding it. Just as he had come to expect her face reflected nothing as she looked away from him and towards the man.

His gaze remained glued to their interlocked hands. Her hands were rough, so much rougher than his. They were nothing like that of the noble girl's that he had failed to kill and were even rougher than the hardest working commoners'. His gaze drifted to the dagger, at her hip, and the roughness made sense, when he put everything together. She would be the perfect, little child soldier but for a reason he couldn't explain that didn't sit well with him. Despite that and her cold behavior, her hands were incredibly warm; it was a warmth that he had nearly forgotten. Without realizing what he was doing, he ran his thumb over her knuckles, and she returned the gesture with a little squeeze of their hands.

He was broken free from his thoughts, when he realized that the man was speaking to him. The man had a weird look in his eyes, but his gaze rested more on the girl. When her gaze shifted back to the boy, he found himself only half listening to the man and he couldn't really bring himself to care.

It wasn't really until he found himself alone with them in a hotel room that he quickly came to his senses. Her grip on his hand was incredibly light, easy to break free from, and yet it felt like an iron grip. When it was suggested for him to sit on one of the beds, he froze and stared into nothingness with wide eyes.

When the girl tried to pull him towards the bed, he finally fought back by pulling his hand free. A silence settled over them and he stared at the ground. A sigh and some shifting from the man caused the boy to flinch before looking at the kneeling man.

The look in the man's eyes was something that the boy hadn't seen from another man in a very long time. The man looked away and rubbed the back of his neck and it was clear he wanted to say something but didn't know what. Eventually, he backed up and the boy relaxed a little.

The two men had come to an unspoken understanding, while the girl was clueless to it. Once again, she grabbed the boy's hand and tried to lead him to the bed, and while his reaction wasn't as fierce as before he still refused. Finally, he was given some kind of reaction from her as she tilted her head at him, but she still remained as impassive as ever. The man delicately explained the boy's reluctance and the boy wasn't sure if she understood or not, but she did release his hand; and he found himself missing her warmth.

The man handed the boy a glass, filled to the brim with an incredibly light, green liquid. The boy didn't take the glass and just eyed it. With a sigh the man left his hand, with the glass, hanging as he rubbed the back of his neck with the other.

The girl took the glass and handed it to the boy, but he still refused to take it. She looked at the glass and then at him, holding out the glass more and he continued to refuse to take it. Her impassive face told him nothing, while he hoped his small glare said everything.

"It's bitter," she said flatly, and his eyes widened. That had been the first thing she had said to him, and even though he had heard her speak earlier, a part of him was still expecting her to be mute; to further help her be the perfect, child soldier. "It tastes really bad, but it makes you feel better."

She held up the glass to him some more and while his glare vanished, he still did not take it. For a brief moment she looked at the glass and then took a large gulp. Her face scrunched up slightly as her body curled into itself. That was the most expressive he would ever see of her that night. Despite that grand display from her, her face quickly morphed into her normal doll-like expression as she handed the glass out to him.

Still remaining silent, he took the glass from her and drank it all. His reaction was far greater than hers. The man gave him a little smile, while she remained ever expressionless. He wanted something from her, and he didn't know what, but he never voiced it, never really acknowledged that little desire either.

He never stepped closer to the beds and the two strangers were okay with that as the girl sat on the floor in front of him. Earlier he had been too preoccupied to notice but she would constantly stare at him and rarely looked away. It was something that should have bothered him greatly and yet it didn't, the man's stare on the other hand did.

"What's your name?" she asked, and he flinched while looking away. Pressing his lips together he dared to not let a sound escape him. Right as she was about to say her name a hand covered her mouth and the man gave her a silent warning. The man shared a look with the boy, who understood the message. If he would not share, then neither would the strangers. The corners of the girl's lips were turned down, ever so slightly, into what the boy might consider a small pout, but he wasn't sure if that was just him projecting some kind of emotion on her or not.

Night descended and the boy slept on the floor, near the door, while the two strangers each took their respective beds. While he felt like maybe he could trust them, especially after the bitter drink had helped to greatly reduce his pain, but he knew better to trust in a stranger's kindness, no matter how nice they may be. So, in the dead of night, after he was sure they both went to sleep the boy slipped out of the room, leaving no note or trace of him behind.

As he quietly made his way out of the inn, he couldn't stop thinking about the girl. She was so weird. From all his experience, he knew that he should avoid her at all cost, that she was dangerous and yet he couldn't really bring himself to believe that. Life had been so unfair to him but he hoped that she wouldn't have to experience any of the pain he had to endure; besides his mother, she was the only other person he really wished such a thing for.

At the exit, his hand hovered over the doorknob to his freedom. He needed to leave, he knew nothing about them, and that man's secretive nature was all he needed to know that they were not safe and yet… Just leaving the girl like that wasn't sitting well. His safety was always his priority over everything, but his mother's, and yet he didn't want to leave that girl, at least not under the conditions he was. He gritted his teeth as he grabbed the doorknob, he already messed up because of his feelings for one girl, he wasn't going to do that again.

"Where are you going?" asked a matter-of-fact voice that he knew could only ever belong to one person. Swiftly, he spun around to be face to face with the girl's blank expression.

A silence stretched out between them. Her gaze was unwavering while his was weak. He gripped the sides of his ripped pants as he gave in and looked away.

When she stood before him, he flinched. She held out her palm towards him and in it was nothing. He looked at her hand and then back at her. She curled her hand closed and brought it back to her side.

"I'm sorry that I do not have anything to give." He was sure he saw a spark of disappointment flash in her eyes, but it was gone so quickly. "It would be better if you stay with us. That way we can protect you." He looked away and a silence settled over them.

After a few seconds of her doing nothing he turned his back towards her. His grip on the doorknob tightened but he couldn't bring himself to twist it. He stared at the door as if it held all the answers to the questions, he would never voice.

"My dad said I'm not allowed to ask you to stay." Her voice was as detached as he had come to expect but at that time, he could have sworn he heard a tiny twinge of an emotion in it; or it was just him projecting again.

His grip on the doorknob weakened as he looked at her from over his shoulder. Despite knowing that he should expect the blank expression, it still bothered him that it was no longer bothering him, after just spending a few hours with her. He thought she was the perfect, child soldier but she did let slip some information about her and that man; though it was obvious to him that they had shared some kind of familial bond. The corners of his lips twitched into a small smile, when he realized she wasn't so "perfect".

"I won't ask you to stay." He looked away. "But will you stay safe, at least?" His gaze returned to her again. It was such a heartfelt question and yet such a feeling was never reflected by her. That did not stop the warmth from blossoming in his chest.

Finally finding the resolve, he opened the door. As he gave her one final look he wondered if he should say something. If he should wish her the same, even though he felt like such sentiment would be wasted on her. In the end, he remained silent. He gave her a firm nod before shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Several years had passed since that fateful encounter. The boy was now a man and he was no longer weak. Back then he was nothing more than a tool for greedy nobles to exploit but now he was an exploiter of nobles. He was now standing at the top, or at least he was almost there. He still had a few missteps to take care of but soon no one would be able to control him.

In those few years, he became Yuri the Savage Mockingbird with a vast underground network with connections all over Fodlan. For all the information, he commanded, there was still an important piece of information that eluded him and that was everything that surrounded that strange father-daughter pair. All these years later and he still didn't know what to make of them or why such a secretive pair would put themselves in danger to save some boy they knew nothing about. All Yuri knew was that the mysterious girl had never left his mind.

Whenever he had time to let his mind wonder, his thoughts would return to her and today had been no different. A smirk graced his features as he returned his attention back to the dilapidated classroom that was supposed to be for the Ashen Wolves. He would often wonder so many things about her. Was she still expressionless? What did she look like as an adult? And other such things, but as of late he began to wonder if she would come to live in the Abyss if he had asked her too. But for all his thoughts of her, he never wondered if she was okay or not. He always felt like she would be fine.

His gaze focused on one of his subordinates as he entered the classroom. Yuri leaned back into his chair as he called the man over. The subordinate had given him an update on what was going on in Garreg Mach. The news for the past year had been relatively uninteresting, even with the three future leaders of Fodlan all studying there, and so he only halfheartedly listened, until a particularly strange piece of information caught his attention.

"The Ashen Demon is going to become a professor?" he asked, and his subordinate nodded. The Ashe Demon was allegedly a heartless monster that killed without ever showing a sherd of emotion. To imagine such a being teaching the noble brats was an amusing thought.

There was more to report but Yuri wasn't in the mood to hear anymore and dismissed his man with little thought. His gaze drifted upwards until he was staring up at the roof. For a while now he had suspected that the Ashen Demon might be that girl as they were both emotionless beings, but he had no real proof to work with. Any information he could obtain about the Ashen Demon was always so embellished, like how the demon's hair was dyed red from the blood of their victims and such, none of which could be taken too seriously. He couldn't even gleam the sex of the demon because of so many conflicting facts. While the Ashen Demon was a truly interesting lead, he had hoped that the girl and the demon were not the same person as he hoped that she didn't become the perfect, killing machine.

With a slight throb in his neck, he settled his gaze to a more comfortable position, and he chose to watch the two people, sitting in the opposite side of the room. They chatted happily, while he just stared at them, not really thinking about anything. After a while, a sigh escaped him, and he got up to leave. Even if there wasn't a possible connection between the girl and the Ashen Demon, there was no way he wouldn't be curious about seeing the demon; or at least that was what he told himself as he left Abyss.

Night had fallen by the time Yuri left and learned where the Ashen Demon was staying at. He could not help but question the archbishop's intentions of not only having the Ashen Demon as a professor but to also have the demon staying in the dorms with the students; it seemed a bit idiotic to him. A chuckle slipped from his lips as he imagined how the nobles' parents would react if they had learned of such a fact.

With a little smirk he made his way over to the room that the Ashen Demon was staying in. No light could be seen, and he wondered if the demon was out because even though it was late, he couldn't imagine that the demon was already asleep. As if responding to his thoughts the curtains to the room were pushed open and he was met with a blank stare.

An excitement bubbled within him, even though he could barely make out the figure on the other side of the window, the stare had excited him to no end. The demon pointed towards the door and Yuri could barely keep himself from grabbing the door's handle and slamming it open. His fingers twitched with a nervous energy he hadn't felt in years.

It took forever for the door to open but as soon as it did, he forgot how to breathe. The blank stare that he could not forget, after all those years, was staring at him again. His heart was beating so rapidly, almost as if it were trying to break free. As he got older, he had learned how to harness words as a powerful tool, and they had become his greatest weapon, but that skill was alluding him that night as his mind was completely empty.

The Ashen Demon was a woman, and what a woman she was just based on looks alone; he itched to see how frightening she could be in battle. He slowly took her in. She was nothing like what he imagined the terrifying Ashen Demon to look like. She looked like a normal, eye catching woman, except when it came to her impassive face; an expression that Yuri didn't realize how much he had longed to see again. Those emotionless eyes once again captivated him.

They stared at each other, as he still couldn't think of a thing to say. She closed her eyes and just like that it felt like a trance was broken for him. His usual confident smirk returned to his face as thoughts returned to his mind but once she opened her eyes, they were all lost again.

"You are pretty boy, aren't you?" she asked with that deadpan voice that would invade his mind every now and then.

He reeled back with his face bright red. Compliments were a dime a dozen for him. He had been told many more lavish things and yet it was that simple, little complement that got to him the most. His pride would have been wounded if he had the sense to remember such a thing.

"P-pretty boy?" he asked, and he couldn't remember the last time he had stuttered. He would have berated himself for it if he hadn't looked into her eyes and forgotten everything.

"You can talk?" She cocked her head to the side and his blush deepened. The fact that he had never spoken a word to her during their brief time together had always bothered him, despite him acknowledging that as a smart decision.

"Yeah," he mumbled. Finding a newfound interest in the crates, next to her room. No longer staring into her eyes, he could feel his intelligence slowly returning to him.

"Shall I continue to call you pretty boy?" He could feel his cheeks warm up some more. "Or can I finally learn your name?"

"It's Yuri." He turned to look at her, when he was sure he had a bit more control over himself. "Yuri Leclerc." The fake name spilled from his lips so easily and his smile became strained. He never cared when he gave others his fake name. It didn't even bother him that the closest people to him, the Ashen Wolves, didn't even know of his real name. And yet for her, the woman, he practically knew nothing about, he felt guilty for telling her a lie.

The corner of her lips twitched into the tiniest of smiles and his eyes widened. She took a step forward to stand before him and in the glow of moonlight she looked beautiful. His breath got caught in his throat as she looked up at him. No one could entrap him in such a way, and he found himself not caring and welcoming her strange spell.

"Well Yuri." He felt his heart leap into his throat at the sound of his fake name leaving her lips. A part of him realized that it might have been for the best that she didn't know his real name…yet. "I'm Byleth Eisner. It's good to see you again."

His eyes widen for a moment before settling into a fond smile.


End file.
